DJ,
I had a similar crypt meltdown when I did not change water
for a few months. Similarly I scooped up all the mess and changed
water.. the plants sprang back.
Any possibility of your light being on the blink? when you
were not looking. Has the tube dimmed a lot?
Try a 50% water change and add some micronutrients.
What is a "constant spray water change" ?
Raj
>I'm long time lurker, and I've got a 38gal with red and green crypts,
>narrow and regular java ferns, and java moss. It's low light (one 3'
>tube, probably a couple of years old now), no CO2, Fluorite substrate,
>constant spray water change, sump filter that feeds into a RUGF, flow
>seems the same as always. Over the four years or so I've had it going all
>the plants have been growing slow but steady -- until a couple of days
>ago.
>
>Now all of a sudden over a two day span every single crypt has melted
>right down to the gravel. Been using a big fish net to scoop up all the
>mush off the bottom. What factor could have changed to trigger such a
>complete and sudden meltdown??? The number of fish (dozen harlequin
>rasboras, four striated botias, four otos, one betta) has changed little
>over the past couple of years (one rasbora died in the last six-months
>that I know of), the hand-full of Amano shrimp who have survived from the
>start still seem happy as normal. The rasboras seem to like the extra
>elbow room now, the rest of the denizens seem none too fond of the Agent
>Orange look, but are not acting stressed. Still feeding the same as
>always, same minimal fert routine as always: Flourish, Equilibrium, KH2PO4
>(the KH2PO4 was the last thing that I've changed with this tank, started
>adding it last summer to try to cut down on the algae, seems to have
>worked).
>
>I would think with the constant drip water change that the system would
>have reached equilibrium long ago. The only thing I can think of that
>might have changed would be the temp of the tank since it is not in an
>ACed room, but it is hot now like it has been all summer.
>Any idea what caused the crash so I'd know what to keep an eye on in the
>future -- or will need to change in my setup? If something slowly drifted
>out of the crypt's range why the sudden crash, and why now after the tank
>has seemed stable for so long? Did the slow plant growth reach some
>critical mass that all of a sudden over-ran the ferts? Is the RUGF a bad
>thing over the long run? If so I would have expected the otos or shrimp
>to indicate something was wrong first.
>
>And will the crypts grow back?
>
>Regards,
>DJ
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